Slipped Away
by Ares' Warrior Babe
Summary: Gabrielle tells the story of Xena's last battle. Post FIN.


**Author:** Ares' Warrior Babe

**Title:** Slipped Away

**Rating:** Uh I don't know…like PG? PG-13 if you think about all the violence.

**Spoilers:** A Friend In Need. Basically the whole episode so if you haven't seen it, be warned. Oh and you're lucky. You didn't have to see Xena die!

**Feedback:** Sure! I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. Tell me if you loved it or hated it, just please tell me! You can e-mail me at I don't own Xena….Nobody even knows who does own Xena. If they did, we would have had a Xena movie already! Maybe I should just buy the rights, then we could FINALLY get that damn movie…..Anyway I WISH I owned it but I don't…-sigh-.

**Dedication: **To Coral cause she now loves Xena! To Lucy & Renee DUH! Cause without them, we wouldn't have Xena and Gabrielle!

**Author's Note:** Okay so when Gabby is telling the story, when I typed it, the paragraph went on forever so I broke it up, 'cuz no one likes to read a huge paragraph!

Slipped Away…

Gabrielle sat down on a stool in the tavern. It was packed. Filled with people honoring Xena. Some of them had only heard of the legendary warrior princess who had redeemed herself, while others were close friends.

Eve had come to see Gabrielle as soon as she had got word of her mother's death. Virgil had come with Eve. Though they didn't know Xena that well, they still loved her. Eve had been depressed. She regretted that she had not stayed with her mother longer. She blamed herself for Xena's death. Why she did, only Eve knew. She didn't talk that much to anyone anymore. Virgil had stayed close by, keeping an eye on her, making sure she didn't do anything harmful to herself or anyone else. Through this tragedy, those two had seemingly got closer.

Gabrielle was stunned at all the people that were at the tavern. She knew Xena had a big impact on people's lives, but she had no idea that it was this big. Around the tavern there were candles lit, with some portraits of Xena in some form or another. Flowers were covering the tables. The bar top was holding a mountain of stuff that people wanted to give as on offering to remember Xena. There were things like food, wines, even toys from children. A little girl had given up her most prized possession to honor Xena, her locket. She had said the locket was a gift from her father. He told her that it was her mother's and that her mother would watch over her. The little girl said that by giving the locket to Xena, her mother would watch over Xena and protect her.

As Gabrielle cleared throat, all the talking had quieted down into silence, awaiting the beautiful words that would come from her mouth, telling the greatest tale of the most noble hero. Xena.

"I sing the song of Xena, the Warrior Princess. Redeeming herself and forgiving herself." Gabrielle took in a small breath. She wasn't so sure about telling the story anymore. A small breeze had swept through the tavern and settled around Gabrielle. Somehow she knew it was Xena. She was giving her the strength she needed to continue.

Closing her eyes quickly, then opening them, she started again. "She became a hero. Taking out warlords and even stopping an entire army by herself. Our story takes place in a land far to the East. A place called Jappa. Xena had been there before. In her past she had pretended to save a young girl named Akemi, but had really planned on using her to get a reward. She could have killed Akemi if she wanted to, but something inside of her stopped it. Akemi had taught Xena how to love. This girl who she had barely known had Xena wrapped around her finger. She could have Xena do anything for her. Why?

Because Xena had loved Akemi and Akemi had loved Xena. Xena had taught her skills to defend herself. She also taught her the pinch. And Akemi had used it, on her father. She had killed him because he had been so cruel to her. He had killed her mother and her siblings, so she killed him, and made him suffer. She still had one last request of Xena, to restore her honor by cutting off her head and taking her ashes to the family shrine in Higuchi. Xena didn't want to do it, but Akemi had stabbed herself. Akemi had spoken of her passing and how time and love go on forever. Xena had honored Akemi's wish and had taken the ashes to Higuchi, but the people there did not think it was right.

They hadn't wanted Akemi's ashes there. She had killed her father, and they thought the she should not be honored for doing such a thing. The villagers had thrown things at Xena and made her fall. The vase that held Akemi's ashes was broken and the ashes scattered around, being taken away by the wind. Xena had became furious. She had drank some ale and blew fire from a torch, sending the city up into flames. But Xena didn't care. Someone she loved was now gone, and she couldn't do anything to honor her. Because of that fire, 40,000 people had perished.

Years later, a man from Jappa had come to Xena and I, telling us that he had a message from Akemi. The land of Jappa was in danger from an evil spirit name Yodoshi. Lord Yodoshi was Akemi's father, and since he was so evil the Underworld did not want him. He became an evil spirit who claimed the dead spirits of Jappa and did not let them move on to peace. The man had said that Akemi was one of the spirits Yodoshi had to call forth the spirits of the dead."

Gabrielle had paused for a moment, but long enough for a little girl to ask her a question. "Gabrielle, if Akemi had killed Yodoshi, why did he still keep her around to call the spirits?" The little girl cocked an eyebrow exactly like Xena used.

Gabrielle smiled slightly. "Because Akemi had killed Yodoshi, he had wanted her to suffer when she died by making her call the spirits to him. If she would call them, she would be the one responsible for them not finding peace, not Yodoshi."

Gabrielle had felt a strange presence beside and turned to look over at it. By her side Aphrodite and Ares appeared. Aphrodite was wearing black instead of her trademark pink. And Ares…Ares had a look that was unreadable, but somehow she knew that on the inside he was breaking. His heart was shattering right in front of her and she didn't know what to do to comfort him. Ares had looked straight into Gabrielle's green eyes and simply nodded for her to continue. "We arrived in Jappa and met a man who was called the Ghost Killer. He would kill the ghosts spirits' so Yodoshi couldn't get them.

That's when Xena had taught me an important lesson in fighting. To not just listen to the sounds, but to listen to what's behind them. She had also taught me the pinch and told me that if she had thirty seconds to live, she would want to spend them looking into my eyes. And I knew that would be the last time I would see her alive. She went out to battle Yodoshi's men. It was 1 to 1,000. There was no way she could defeat them. She had gotten six arrows in her, then they beheaded her."

Gabrielle closed her eyes as the image of Xena's headless body filled her mind.

xXx FLASHBACK xXx

_Gabrielle was looking up at the body of Xena. It was so tortured. Her head was missing and she still had the arrows in her body. Gabrielle sank to her knees and vomited. After a few moments of taking deep breaths, she got back up and screamed, "Where's her head!"_

xXx END FLASHBACK xXx

"She opened her eyes and picked up her tail. "I had done exactly what the man had said, to get Xena back. I took her body and burned it, then took the ashes to Mt. Fuji. But before I could get her ashes to the fountain, a samurai had tried to stop me. He knocked me down and the ashes fell over the cliff, but they landed on a birds nest. I knocked the samurai out and ran to the fountain to get some water for Xena's spirit. Her spirit was weakening from her battle with Yodoshi, so I brought water to her and her spirit regained all of her strength. She battled Yodoshi while I climbed down the cliff to get the fallen ashes. When I had gotten back on the mountain, the samurai had woken up and started to charge at me.

I threw Xena's chakram at him, killing me instantly. When I caught the chakram, I just knew something would go wrong. Something that would prevent me from bringing her back."

Gabrielle took in a deep breath. The hardest part of the story was coming. She wasn't sure if she could tell it without crying. Ares moved closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "She needs someone to tell her legacy." He whispered to her. She nodded back in response.

"Xena had finished fighting Yodoshi and had killed his spirit, releasing the souls he had. I went to pour the ashes into the fountain, but she stopped me. She didn't want me to bring her back if it meant the 40,000 souls would still be condemned. She said it was her final redemption. I didn't want to let her go, but I had to. I know she'll always be with me. She'll always have a place in my heart, not as a warrior, and not as a hero. But as my best friend." Gabrielle finished her tale while a few tears slipped down from her eyes.

Aphrodite walked up to Gabrielle and tentively asked, "Gabrielle, do you mind if I sing a song I wrote for Xena?"

"No, go ahead." Gabrielle got up from her seat and motioned for Aphrodite to sit down. Aphrodite complied with her wish.

" Okay, hi everyone. I wanted to share a song I wrote about Xena's death with you." She turned to Ares. "Could you start the music?"

He made a small music box appear and opened. A sweet melody filled the room mixed with Aphrodite's voice.

"Nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah

I miss you, miss you so bad

I don't forget you, Oh it's so sad

I hope you can hear me, I remember it clearly

The day, you slipped away, Was the day, I found it won't be the same.

Oh, Nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah

I didn't get around to kiss you, goodbye on the hand

I wish that I could see you again, I know that I can't

I hope you can hear me, I remember it clearly

The day, you slipped away, Was the day, I've found it won't be the same.

I've had my wake up, won't you wake up, I keep asking why?

And I can't take it, it wasn't fake it, it happened you past by.

Now you're gone, now you're gone, there you go, there you go, somewhere I can't bring you back,

Now you're gone, now you're gone, there you go, there you go, somewhere you're not coming back.

The day, you slipped away, Was the day, I found it won't be the same.

The day, you slipped away, Was the day, I found it won't be the same.

Oh, Nah nah, nah nah nah nah.

I miss you."

There was silence once the song was over. The room was in tears, even Ares was shedding tears. Aphrodite closed the music box and said into the air, "I hope you found the peace you wanted, warrior babe. We'll always love you and miss you." She and Ares disappeared.

Gabrielle walked out of the tavern and onto a cliff overlooking the ocean. She quietly whispered "I love you Xena."

FIN. . . .(now that's weird. A way to say the end is FIN. You know what, T H E E N D!)

P.S. Please review!


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